|
|
Gibbs v. Burke, 337 U.S. 773 (1949)
Contents:
Show Summary
Hide Summary
General SummaryThis case is from a collection containing the full text of over 16,000 Supreme Court cases from 1793 to the present. The body of Supreme Court decisions are, effectively, the final interpretation of the Constitution. Only an amendment to the Constitution can permanently overturn an interpretation and this has happened only four times in American history.
Gibbs v. Burke, 337 U.S. 773 (1949)
Gibbs v. Burke No. 418 Argued April 21-22, 1949 Decided June 27, 1949 337 U.S. 773
CERTIORARI TO THE SUPREME COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA
Syllabus
Petitioner, a man in his thirties, was tried and convicted in a Pennsylvania state court for larceny, and was sentenced to imprisonment for 2 1/2 to 5 years. He conducted his own defense, appointment of counsel having been neither requested by petitioner nor offered by the court. At the trial, considerable hearsay and otherwise incompetent evidence prejudicial to petitioner was admitted; the prosecuting witness, being recalled for further cross-examination, was made a witness for petitioner, to the latter’s detriment; petitioner was prevented from proving a fact clearly relevant to his defense, and the trial judge, advising petitioner of his privilege against self-incrimination, made reference in the presence of the jury to petitioner’s criminal record. Petitioner’s subsequent application to the State Supreme Court for a writ of habeas corpus, claiming a denial of federal constitutional right on his trial, was denied.
Held:
1. The federal question was adequately raised, and the case is properly considered here on its merits. P. 779.
(a) Reliance on the Sixth, rather than the Fourteenth, Amendment in the habeas corpus petition was not fatal, since meticulousness in procedural allegations is not essential in a habeas corpus proceeding. P. 779.
(b) It appears that habeas corpus was a proper method of testing the constitutionality of the conviction, and that it was within the original jurisdiction of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. P. 779.
2. The facts of the case, particularly the occurrences at the trial, sufficiently show that petitioner was handicapped by lack of counsel to such an extent that he was denied a fair trial contrary to the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Pp. 774-778, 780-782.
Reversed.
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, in an original proceeding, denied petitioner’s application for a writ of habeas corpus. This Court granted certiorari, 335 U.S. 867, and appointed a member of the Bar of this Court to serve as counsel for the petitioner. 335 U.S. 895. Reversed and remanded, p. 782.
Contents:
Chicago: U.S. Supreme Court, "Syllabus," Gibbs v. Burke, 337 U.S. 773 (1949) in 337 U.S. 773 337 U.S. 774. Original Sources, accessed November 22, 2024, http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=9VZGH1TKAPWGVPX.
MLA: U.S. Supreme Court. "Syllabus." Gibbs v. Burke, 337 U.S. 773 (1949), in 337 U.S. 773, page 337 U.S. 774. Original Sources. 22 Nov. 2024. http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=9VZGH1TKAPWGVPX.
Harvard: U.S. Supreme Court, 'Syllabus' in Gibbs v. Burke, 337 U.S. 773 (1949). cited in 1949, 337 U.S. 773, pp.337 U.S. 774. Original Sources, retrieved 22 November 2024, from http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=9VZGH1TKAPWGVPX.
|